Analytic and Strategic Approaches to the Development of International (European) Markets

Diplomarbeit von Patrizia Beier

Abstract:

The objective of this thesis comprises the analytic and strategic approach to develop new and international markets based on the specific interest for the medium-sized US software company Pixel Magic Imaging, Inc. (PMI).

PMI was in its infancy in terms of „going international”. In other words, PMI had neither an organized and international marketing conception nor a regular business to foreign customers and markets so far. Aim and object of this project was analyzing marketing opportunities for their product portfolio within different international markets and to approach adequate marketing strategies. Therefore data of international markets must be collected, evaluated and analyzed to put these results in a strategic order. This thesis deals with the development of foreign markets and how market entry could be realized. It focuses on explaining ways how to get there. The aim of this thesis is to prove which strategies are possible and to explain them in a general approach.

The market research and defining the appropriate strategies where focused on the company’s product portfolio. The products are digital imaging software and equipment and are placed in the segment for professional photographers, photographic entrepreneurs and retail outlets.

The scope of duties in this thesis consisted in gathering data and compiling reports for international sales opportunities in so far unknown international markets. The study combines the theoretical approach with the know-how of working expierence and expatiated the methodology of international marketing research, designing of an international marketing concept and the implementation of market strategies in describing the theoretical disciplines and to implement these results into the company’s strategy focus and product portfolio.

This thesis benefits from the empirical data gained and its success based on an intensive exchange of ideas from theory and practical work experience.

Table of Contents:

Table of Contents:

Text Sample:

Chapter 3.3.4, Interpreting and Analyzing Data:

The interpreting of the data material was not carried out in a strictly analytical way, particularly since there were just 14 interviews. It was tried to find out, if there exist a certain trend among the answers and opinions of the respondents, while analyzing the data. Every single interview was recorded with the address and a summary of the interview. The sub-questions with the yes or no answers were helpful to figure out certain trends in terms of opinions and attitudes. In the following you can see the final evaluation of the interviews:

- Most photographers work with real backgrounds and/or with coloured canvases.

- The term „Event Photography” has a different meaning in Germany compared with the USA. Event Photography in Germany is mostly understood as school and kindergarten photography, galas and concerts and for reports in terms of journalism. In the USA the term „Event Photography” for example stands for school or family reunions, sport events, cruise, partly school and kindergarten photography. Furthermore the „Event Photographer” is an independent profession in the USA, many Event Photographers carry out shootings simply at the locality of event and merely own a portable studio.

- The most popular types of photography are wedding-, passport-, and application photography.

- Buyer-Criterions, which attach importance to:

Price/Performance: Trend is more and more going to a well-balanced proportion in terms of price and performance. Reason for this fact are the photo-magazines and their quality tests.

Design: Very important for the respondent. Was mostly mentioned right after the price/performance criteria.

Quality: The quality of digital cameras will be a main part of the buying decision not only in terms of the technology of the camera but also in terms of the software, capturing-, transfer, and improvement technology. Many of the respondents criticized the present quality of digital cameras.

Price: Plays a part, but in terms of high-technology products not a final part. More important is the price/performance aspect: The buyer agrees, that more performance requires a higher price.

- Digital Imaging is preferably used for fashion and catalogue-photography, press-reports and for pre-press. Those photographers realize more and more the direct advantages, which digital imaging offers. In contrast to fashion photographers, the wedding- and studio photographers are held back by high investments for digital imaging products.

- Each of the respondents were not familiar with PMI’s product and the contained marketing possibilities.

- Just one of the respondents saw an investment as a chance for new marketing opportunities and thus to increase the turnover. All of the others just see an investment as a necessary „must” for new equipment; it is just a replacement investment.

As already mentioned, exploratory research is used to define a problem, here it shows a marketing problem, namely the general „thinking” of the respondents. Taking the last two statements into consideration, they show that the respondents do not have the idea to find new marketing and new sales opportunities. This phenomena is different from the US customer segment.

Chapter 3.4, Competitor Research:

This part of chapter 3 is described separately, since it contains both secondary and primary research.

Chapter 3.4.1, Secondary Competitor Research:

The secondary research covers the digital imaging markets of Italy, Great Britain, France and Germany. The sources for the research were the Internet, brochures and the European trade press. To find possible competitors in the European market, it was first necessary to search for similar products. Graumann describes this kind of search as „product competition: The competitors have the same products and/or run the same/similar product and program policy.” In fact, some competitors were already known, but the search for similar products revealed a lot of new competitors and thus it minimized the risk of forgetting some important ones.

After knowing the specific products, the company itself and its activities were analyzed and its activities. Information was gathered about following criteria:

- Address.

- Size of the company.

- Channel of Distribution.

- Range of products.

- Competitive Products (includes detailed technical information).

- Upcoming Products.

- Trade Shows.

The research was split from a rough search to more detailed factors (see above). To divide the information into these criteria was meaningful, since it conveyed interesting facts about the prevalent market conditions in Europe, e. g. that some companies plan to release new products, which are similar to PMI’s products or it was informative about other important trade fairs in Europe, besides the „photokina” show. Another interesting fact was that the competitors can be divided in multinational companies and into competitors, who are exporting European wide.

The data was collected for every country and listed in tabular form in an excel sheet. Summarized, it can be said, that the competitor research gave additional knowledge about the structure of the foreign European markets.